British Go Association: Junior Pages

4 February 2010

Japan Trip

In October three young British Go players - Roella Smith, Mazhar Warraich, and Tian-Ren Chen - were invited to Japan (along with Roella's dad Paul) for an all-expenses paid 'Japan Europe Youth Go Exchange'. There were similar groups from Germany and France, and the overall group leader was Catalin Taranu, the professional Go player from Romania.

On Monday 19th October they were treated to a tour of the Nihon Kiin, a ten-storey building devoted entirely to Go, and they also got to play simultaneous teaching games with Japanese professionals. On Tuesday they met the Go legend Otake Hideo, who has won many titles and is now president of the Nihon Kiin. On Wednesday they had more professional teaching games, and on Thursday visited a museum and a shrine. On Friday they were allowed into the playing room to watch part of a game in the Oza title match between Cho U and Yamada Kimio. Later they had more teaching games, with Tian managing to beat Ishikura Noboru 9-dan, and they met the famous player Takemiya Masaki. On Saturday they watched inseis playing Go, which Paul described as "very much as I imagined from reading in Hikaru no Go".

Overall the trip sounds like it was great fun, and hopefully it will run again in future years. Be sure to read Paul's full report in the British Go Journal!

23 January 2010

Josekipedia

You're probably all aware of the free Kogo's Joseki Dictionary, which can either be downloaded or browsed online here. There is now a new free online joseki dictionary, called Josekipedia. It looks quite interesting, so you may want to check it out here. One further online joseki resource is BruGo, available here.

3 January 2010

Matthew Hathrell Wins YGP

Happy New Year everyone! The 2009 Youth Grand Prix has now finished, with Matthew Hathrell coming first, Roella Smith second, and Michael Webster third. Well done to those three, and to everyone else who earned points. Full standings for the year can be seen here. Matthew and Michael will both be too old to play this coming year, so we will have at least two new prize winners in 2010. Good luck to everyone in their tournaments this year.

19 December 2009

European Youth Goe Championship

The 15th European Youth Goe Championship is now open for registration! It will be held in the city of Sibiu, in Romania, and it's recommended that you register early to secure good accommodation. The official website can be found here.

2 December 2009

YGP Standings & Barney Shiu

I forgot to point out that the YGP standings were updated on the 26th November. Matthew Hathrell still leads with Roella Smith in second place.

In 13th place with 270 points we find Barney Shiu. Barney is nine years old and has only been playing since March, but he has already reached 12 kyu on the BGA rating list. He recently won the 13x13 competition at the East Midlands tournament with 5 wins from 5 games, so well done to him!

26 November 2009

U-18 Kido Cup

In October, a big Go tournament called the Kido Cup was held in Germany. The junior section was won by Alexander Eerbeek 3 dan of the Netherlands, with 5 wins from 5 games. There were no junior British participants - so mark it in your diary for next year! Full results can be seen here.

21 September 2009

YGP Standings Updated

Matthew Hathrell has increased his lead over his nearest rivals and may now be difficult to catch. Barney Shiu has jumped from place 22 to 13. Full standings can be seen here.

7 September 2009

YGP Standings Updated

Matthew Hathrell continues his climb through the ranks to reach the top spot in the Youth Grand Prix, and Roella Smith reaches 3rd place. Jamie Taylor has made a big jump from place 14 to place 8. Full standings can be seen here.

6 September 2009

Cultural Youth Exchange

The Nihon Ki-in (Japanese Go Association) has invited young players from several European countries to Japan from the 17th to 25th of October for the 6th 'Youth Go Project'. Mazhar Warraich (2 kyu), Tian Ren-Chen (3 kyu) and Roella Smith (18 kyu) will be representing the BGA, accompanied by Paul Smith. During the trip the young players will have the opportunity to visit the Nihon Ki-in and see the Yūgen Room where major title matches are held. They will also watch one of the games in the 57th Oza title match, and have the chance to play against professionals. A report of the last Youth Go Project can be seen here.

3 August 2009

BGA KGS Tournament

Throughout August the BGA is running a tournament on KGS. It's self-paired so you can play as many (up to a maximum of 19) or as few games as you want, whenever you want (though you must play at least 5 to qualify for a prize). It would be great to see more juniors playing in it so go here to sign up!

29 July 2009

YGP Standings Updated

Michael Webster retains the lead in the Youth Grand Prix with 646 points, but Matthew Hathrell has moved up to second place and is breathing down his neck with 612 points. The next opportunity to score YGP points will be at the Mind Sports Olympiad at the end of August.

28 June 2009

UK Go Challenge Results

Exactly 55 players took part in the UK Go challenge this year. The event was held at Milton Community Centre in Cambridge, with sponsorship from Winton Capital Management. In first place was Tian Ren Chen, second was Mazhar Warraich and third was Matthew Hathrell. The main website has the full results.

11 April 2009

Transatlantic Youth Go Match

Youth players from the USA and Canada will take on a team of European Youth Champions on the 19th of April. The matchwill take place on KGS Go Server at 15:00 GMT and 18:00 GMT. The games will be open for all to enjoy.

23 March 2009

BGA Youth Championship

Tian Ren Chen won this year's Youth championship at Aston. Winners of individual sections were, Under-18: Michael Webster Under 16: Mazhar Warraich, Under 12: John Cremin, Under 10: Roella Smith, Under 8: Sophie Broad. Congratulations to them and all who took part. The Complete Results are now available.

8 March 2009

European Championship

Israel's Ali Jabarin is the new European Under 18 Champion, beating Artem Kachanovsky of the Ukraine in the final round. The Under 12 section was a Russian clean sweep, with Mikhail Sidorenko taking first.
Under 18 results table
Under 12 results table

21 February 2009

Upcoming Tournaments in March.

There are two good tournaments coming up for junior players. Firstly there is Trigantius in Cambridge on Saturday the 7th of March. This has a special Novices tournament.
Next up is the British Youth Championships in Birmingham on Sunday the 22nd of March.

15 January 2009

Canada - USA Youth Friendship Match.

The mighty nations of Canada and the USA squared off in a three board friendship game last weekend. The USA team defended their position as favourites well, winning with a perfect 3-0 score. You can find details of the games on the AGA website. Top board was Andy Liu against Gan Sheng Shi, both 7dans. Andy says "the game was a good example of how to build a moyo by attacking." By keeping himself thick throughout the game, his opponent was unable to break into his moyo and left with no choice but to resign.

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